Captain Zorikh's Updates

Over the course of a person's life, glasses get lost, damaged, destroyed, worn out, and it comes time to replace them.

Such a time has come upon Captain Zorikh.

My famous aviator-shape spectacled with the transitions lenses have become too scratched and worn to wear, the really cool, very expensive rimless glasses you can see in the “M&M Song” video on YouTube went and disappeared at a Valentine's Day party. Those round glasses, that really aren't doing it for me anyway, have had their ear pieces replaced twice and the bridge has given way. The little round glasses that I have had since 2000 had broken a while back, which had prompted the purchase of the new rimless ones. The old navigator frames, which had been brought out of retirement as the Last Pair Left, suffered a fatal twist on the way home from the Totally Normal Event and the attachment point for the ear piece has broken off.

In short, it's time for new glasses. I found two perfect pair, one a quite fashionable aviator frame that will go great with the transitions lenses, and the other a wireless set with nigh-indestructible stainless steel handles, at a buy-one-get-the-other-pair-half-off deal. To support the purchase of these glasses, I have produced a CD of all-original songs . Some of them are the best cuts from previous CD's, some are brand new. There are 11 songs in all (with one bonus “hidden” track) with myself on guitar, harmonica and vocals, and support from Eli Maniscalco and Danny Wacker on guitar, Eli on bass, Jeff Webb of Eastwinds drummers on drums and percussion, and Marnen Laibow-Koser on fiddle/violin.

You can see the conditions of my glasses, and order the CD through my website at http://www.captainzorikh.com/glasses. If you are not inclined to buy a CD, but would still like to contribute to the cause, please feel free to purchase any other item on my Watch This Space catalogue page, or even order anything through Amazon.com through any Amazon.com link on any of my websites. Finally, if actually buying something is of no interest to you, but you would still like to contribute to the causes, you can use the Amazon Honor System by clicking on the link here:

In other news, I have posted a new video on YouTube. It is a report of my bout at the Grappler's Quest tournament last weekend. The report explains why we don't actually have video of the match.

This past Saturday I went with Jess and Anne to compete in the NAGA New England grappling championships. I did more competitive grappling and did better than I have ever done at a legitimate grappling tournament.We brought along a camera and recorded some of it so that we can,make a documentary that will be available soon.

I had a little trouble making weight. I had been pretty sedentary in January and some slight padding has been settling around my midsection. Despite some attempts at moderating my eating habits and increasing my activity level, I stepped onto the scale at 190.5. That was a fill 11 pounds heavier than I weighed at my last tournament! I was allowed time to try to sweat off that half pound, so I put on a sweatshirt and started doing jumping jacks and burning off sweat, I even took off my cup and supporter, and just barely got enough of that half pound off that they were willing to put me in the 180lb - 189.9lb bracket.

My first bout was in the Men's Masters No Gi Intermediate Light-Heavyweight Division. In other words, if you were between 30 and 39, had been training for 1-3 years weighed 180-189.9 lbs, and wanted to fight other people in the same category without wearing a gi, this was your division. There was only one other person in this division.

We played patty-cake for a while. He wasn't giving anything away, and neither was I. We both tried some moves, but no one bit. Then he shot for my legs and took me down. He had me in side control, but I had his head in a headlock and was able to get my leg over his hip, eventually getting him to sit up so I could get him in guard. He passed my guard almost instantly, though, going to side mount, to knee-on-belly, to full mount as I concentrated on avoiding being gotten into a submissionable position. I was unable to buck him off of full mount, though, and he attempted an armbar. We both wound up face down in the process, though, and I was able to avoid getting submitted. There was a brief tangle, at the end of which I somehow wound up in mount.

At that point I realized I had achieved something I had never done before. I scored points in a grappling match! I shouted out that fact in triumph, and my opponent's buddies called out to him “You've got to submit him now!”

I was unable to submit him, though, despite trying several things. He bucked me off and somehow got to my back and got his arm around my neck. I was able to deny the rear naked choke, though, keeping my arms engaged with his arms, and preventing him from locking his hand behind my head. I turned into him and got out of the choke hold. I wound up on top of him, but he had one of my legs in his leg. As the final 15 seconds counted down, I sunk in a guillotine hold, but was not able to get the choke in. I grabbed his leg with my other hand and just held on for dear life . When the final 10 seconds passed, I raised my arms in triumph. I was not submitted and I scored points! I think the final counted score was something like 17-3.

This result earned me the silver medal for that division. Here is the match in its entirety:

My next matches did not go as well. In the Men's Adult No Gi Light Heavyweight Beginners Division, I faced a guy who simply charged me, took me down, and forced my right arm into a kimura in 10 seconds flat. That guy went on to win the division.

Then came the gi divisions. In Men's Masters Gi Light Heavyweight White Belt division, I faced a fellow who charged me like a bull. I was unable to sprawl or get out of the way, but I did get him in guard. I held the guard well, but when I tried to put my foot under his chin for a submission attempt, he passed the guard, got into side control, and eventually got the kimura on me.

Finally, in the Mens Adult Gi Light Heavyweight White Belt division, I went in with a new attitude of aggressiveness. We clutched at our gis in various manners, each trying to pull the other down. At a point when we were literally holding each other at arm's length, he got a leg sweep in and took me down. After a struggle, he achieved a north-south mount with his butt in my face. I had to remind myself that we were not at a grapple den party and spanking would be frowned upon. I denied as best as I could, but he worked and worked until he gained the full mount. We fought in that position, him trying to submit me, me trying to buck him, until I was able to roll him onto his back. I would up in his guard, though, and he was able to isolate an arm and nail th armlock.

So there it was. Four fights, three submissions,only one match scoring points. But I DID SCORE POINTS! I DID GET THROUGH ONE MATCH WITHOUT SUBMITTING! I consider that a victory.

2/29/08 Happy Leap Year Day!

Hi folks. It's been a few weeks since my last update, but things are beginning to pop, and here's the poop!

I know you've all been desperately looking for something to do this weekend, well we've got two Captain Zorikh events happening this weekend, that's right, TWO of them! So you've got no excuse to hide from the invasion of the Zorikhism!

Second, and EVEN BIGGER, is the GONG SHOW at Arlene's Grocery on Sunday night! Brought to you by Dana Sterling, the creator of Amateur Female Jello Wrestling and Disco Crisco Twister, is the latest in raucous interactive entertainment! Yes, there will be entertainers (?) trying to entertain you for the $100 cash prize. Yes, there will be a gong that will be rung if you boo early and often enough and YES, Captain Zorikh will be there attempting to win that $100 first prize.

This prize will be very useful in replacing a very expensive pair of glasses my mom had given me that disappeared at a Valentine's Day party at a club in West Chelsea.

Well, here I am at 4:19 AM in the Holiday in Edison, NJ, after finishing the gig at the Jeff Mach Labyrinth event with the guitar that Phil Fiumano of NY Rocks TV was kind enough to provide me. I want to thank all of you who have offered help in replacing the guitar, loans of various guitars, and your moral and emotional support during this period. If I have not sent you a personal message I will soon. This saga is not over yet. There is till a chance that the old Washburn will be in the MTA lost and found.

In the meantime, I missed my train, my cell phone has been dead all day, I may have lost my camera (again), almost lost my cart with my materials that I sell at conventions, and am not sure whether to take the first train home or wait until later to find out for sure what happened to my camera. And I still intend to do the armored swordfighting thing at the Fort Tryon Medieval Festival.

So come on up to Fort Tryon Park (that’s where the Cloisters Museum is) and see me crashing and bashing in my new gambeson!

Details and directions:

The 2007 Medieval Festival will take place on Sunday, September 30 from 11:30AM to 6 PM. There will be authentic medieval music, magic, mime, theater as well as jugglers and jesters and a spectacular joust between knights on horseback.

The Festival starts at Margaret Corbin Circle/190th Street and Fort Washington Avenue. It will extend all the way around the world famous Cloisters, a magnificent Museum of Medieval art. Visitors are encouraged to come by public transportation.

There is no admission charge but a donation of $1 per person at the Wishing Well would be appreciated

By Subway
Take the IND “A” train to the West 190th Street stop in Manhattan. Take the elevator up to the entrance to the Festival.

9/23/07

There are 8 million stories in the naked city. Some of them intertwine and intersect. I am sending this message in the hope that in a week of entwining intersections, there can be just one more that can help me get my guitar back.

Captain Zorikh did it again. After an enjoyable evening at the Church of Pop website launch party (a very interesting event of multi-media art and entertainment), I headed home on the L train at about 12:15 with every intention of getting home and working on my Captain Marvel Culture website. I had my Washburn acoustic guitar in its black Manny's Music gig bag on my back, but took it off so I could stand up and distribute a few flyers for the Big Apple Convention coming up on November 16-17-18. I sat back down when I was done and pulled out a copy of Avengers #198 to read for the rest of the brief journey. When I got to the Montrose Ave stop, I got up and walked out. I stopped at the deli outside the subway exit, and, after ordering a roast beef sandwich (lettuce, tomato and mustard, on a roll), I realized...I didn't have my guitar.

I rushed back down to the subway platform and told the token booth attendant (I'm sorry, I'll always call them that. Just nostalgic, I guess) who did yeoman service making phone calls to let the conductor know that I had left my guitar in the train and to see if he could find it. After an interminable wait, the word was...no guitar.

It's a very horrible feeling to realize one has lost his guitar. This guitar has been a significant part of my livelihood for the past few years. It is one of the few purchases I have made that has paid for itself, many times over. It has helped me get through rough emotional times and helped me communicate my joy with other people.

But also with the guitar was the case it was carried in, and in that case were extra strings, two harmonicas and a harmonica holder, a capo, extra picks, loose change from busking, and a dozen or so Watch This Space comics, various issues, for me to sell.

It was a dumb, simple, way of forgetting it. Such a significant loss for such a miniscule payoff.

So I guess three things could have happened. 12) a good Samaritan now has my guitar and is going through my extra strings, harmonica, loose change from busking (all the foreign coins and amusement park slugs that get tossed in) and dozen or so copies of my Watch This Space comics to find contact info to get the guitar back to its rightful owner or 2) they turned it in to a station attendant who will turn it in to the MTA lost & found or 3) they are keeping it for themselves, thus saving $350 on a very good-sounding guitar (despite some wear and tear). There is also the possibility that it was kidnapped by aliens, but that's not very likely and I don't accept it. If it had been taken for an "unattended package" then the train line would have been shut down and I would know exactly where it is.

So, over the course of this week I have met one person from my alma mater, the School of Visual Arts, one person who is an artist who regularly goes to the Big Apple Convention, and two people that I have known through William Shakespeare's Haunted House, and one who I first met in the SCA, then later when she was working at Belvedere Castle when WSHH was performing there, then again when she turned out to be a friend of a co-worker at Anchor Network, then again when she was waitressing at Veselka. With all these coincidences, I can only hope for just one more, the coincidence that one of you within the sound of my voice knows the person, or is the person, who picked up my guitar that I lest on the L train heading for Broadway Junction at Montrose Ave at about 12:20 in the morning of Saturday night/ Saturday morning September 22-23.

On Monday I will call the MTA's Lost & Found. When I have the results of that investigation, or if somehow my guitar gets back to me sooner, I will let you all know.

I won't send out a "please buy my products at ny catalogue page or buy something from Amazon.com by clicking on the Amazon.com link on almost any page of my website and help me get a new guitar" message until after I have determined that the guitar is actually lost and gone forever.

Captain Zorikh
zorikh@juno.com
917-865-1214

9/19/07

Someone who saw me at the Philadelphia Comic Con decided that I just to join Justice League Unlimited, and thus created this custom action figure of me in my "Captain Marvel Tribute" mode:

Thank you, all of you, who showed up for my birthday gig at the open mike at ArtLand last Thursday. It was great to see you all and really helped me feel that with friends like you, the last (whatever) years have not been in vain.

To those of you who sent your best wishes but could not attend, I greatly appreciated it, Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know we can't all be where we want to be all the time, but I do appreciate each and every pone of your birthday greetings and know that, even if I forget (or never knew) your birthdays, I wish you the same.

Now, just so I don't inundate you with excessive announcements this week, here's an update of more Zorikhism coming up:

Darkon movie premiere fantasy swordfighting demo
In support of the new movie Darkon a documentary about a Live Action Fantsy Role Playing Game, I will be joining several folks in medieval-styled combat at a couple of locations during the week.

On Thursday from 4:30 – 5:30 we will be in Union Square, then we will migrate over to the Cinema Village on 12th St between University Place and 5th Ave.

The film opens on Friday night and plays at :10, 3:10, 5:10, 7:15, 9:30, followed by an after party.

Queens County Farm Museum County Faire medieval swordfighting demo
Every year, the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism does a demonstration of medieval culture at the Queens County Farm Museum County Fair. This is a genuine county fair with pie-eating contests, blue ribbon competitions for everything from pies to painting, cakes to cockatiels, rutabagas to rabbits, live music, rides, games, food, a corn maze, exhibitions of life in early America, and dozens of military re-enactors.

On the edge of all this, I will be in my best armor displaying my chivalrous prowess along with the other fighters of the SCA.

This will be both Saturday and Sunday, admission is $6 for adults, $3 for kids, so bring the whole family! To get there...

Dear friends, fans, former and present fellow cast members, and everyone else who somehow wound up on this list...

Well, another year has gone by and Your Humble Narrator had carefully crafted an announcement.... (Aw, heck with the self-important 3rd person crap)...I wrote a beautiful birthday invite and the computer crashed and I lost it!

This has been a significant and important year for me, one which as taken me places I never expected to go physically, geographically, professionally, and emotionally. It has shown me things I never expected to seee, and given me reasons to do things, and not do things, I never expected.

In memorial of this, I am celebrating my birthday tonight, Thursday, September 6, at an open mike at ArtLand, a local bar in my neighborhood, and would like you to come join me. And before you ask, yes, I will be performing.

The evening starts at 8 PM, and I don't know when I will be performing, but I expect it to be before 10 PM. Afterwards, I would like to migrate to the Rose Karaoke Bar in Manhattan where we all can sing. There may also be the ordering of a pizza or something because I will be coming straight from my grappling training and will be hungry.

Directions:
ArtLand is at 609 Grand St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Take the L train to Grand St. Walk west, towards Manhattan, past Humboldt St, Graham Ave, Manhattan Ave, and Leonard St. ArtLand is located next to a large parking lot for a supermarket.http://www.myspace.com/artlandbar (MySpace)Reviews and map of location
If you get lost call 917-865-1214.

So come on down and help me toss back a few and pay tribute to the past year as I look forward to the next one.